Match Preview: Barnsley

Brentford's last away game of the regular season sees them head to Barnsley for matchday 45 of the 2017/18 campaign. There's all to play for as The Bees look to get closer to the top six, while The Tykes are in a fight to escape relegation from the Sky Bet Championship.

THE OPPOSITION

Barnsley's two-year stay in England's second tier could be over if they lose to Brentford on Saturday and Bolton win their game against Burton Albion. The home side have only won one of their last 11 league games and will need at least one win from their last two if they stand a chance of saving themselves from the drop.

Two defeats back to back at the start of August seemed to be a glimpse of what was to come for Barnsley, until they managed to get two victories out of three games to see out the first month of the season. What followed was a run of mixed success, that at one point had them up to 16th following a 2-0 win over fellow strugglers Birmingham City. A poor turn in form slowly saw them drop towards the relegation zone, which they eventually slid into after a 1-1 draw with Sheffield Wednesday on 10 February.

On 16 December 2017, Griffin Park was the setting as The Bees drew 0-0 with Saturday's opponents. Both sides had chances to win the tie, including a close range effort from Ollie Watkins in the dying moments of second-half stoppage time. The Tykes ended a run of five defeats in a row by avoiding a loss that day in TW8.

Barnsley's last two matches have seen them lose 2-1 to Leeds United, and 3-0 to Nottingham Forest. With Derby County beating Cardiff City in midweek, three points is crucial for Barnsley's hope at survival as well as Brentford's hope for a Play-Off spot.

TEAM NEWS

Rico Henry continues his recovery from a muscle injury he suffered at Middlesbrough earlier this season and will miss out. Alan Judge missed the last two games with a hamstring problem but is hoping to make his return to the matchday squad this weekend.

Barnsley's Andy Yiadom and Zeki Fryers are both looking to get back into their own squad this Saturday. Both were dropped for the defeat to Forest on Tuesday night but could return for this crucial match with The Bees.

THE MANAGER

Jose Morais is a 52-year-old Portuguese Head Coach who has had experience with Inter Milan, Real Madrid and Chelsea. He started out as a youth coach with Benfica, where he first met current Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho. In 2009, he was hired by the 'special one' as an assistant at Inter before following him to jobs in Spain and England.

As a player, Morais plyed his trade in midfield at clubs in his native Portugal during a career that lasted seven years. Starting out at Uniao de Leiria, he moved to Atletico CP in Lisbon before finishing his time at LigaPro side FC Penafiel.

MATCH COVERAGE

iFollow will be hosted by Mark Burridge on Saturday, with Matchday Live getting underway at 2.30pm. Co-Commentator duties this week are taken up by Mick Cabble and Ciaran Brett as The Bees go in search of an important result.

Download the Official Brentford FC App to get notifications direct to your phone, plus all the latest news, views and reaction from the game. Visit the Play Store or iTunes App Store now to download.

Barnsley 2 Brentford 0

Brentford’s push for the Sky Bet Championship Play-Offs fell at the 45th hurdle as defeat to Barnsley ended a late surge for promotion. The Bees went in to the game just three points outside the top six, unbeaten in seven and with four wins from five but a goal in each half condemned them to defeat at Oakwell. The Bees fell behind to a very fortunate Kieffer Moore goal after a bright start and could not find a way back in to the game. Oliver McBurnie added a second soon after half time for the hosts and that gave them a lead they never looked like relinquishing.

It would be hard to argue that Barnsley deserved the points on the balance of play. They came in to the game in the bottom three and started the game poorly as Brentford pushed forward. But they grew in confidence after the goal and then even more after the break as The Bees chased the game without success. In the end, they could have had a more comfortable win with chances that went begging in the second half.

Brentford went on the attack from the first whistle and had chances to get themselves ahead within the first five minutes. Ryan Woods was dictating play at the base of the Brentford midfield with Romaine Sawyers and Lewis Macleod finding space in front of him. Florian Jozefzoon and Sergi Canós were hugging the touchlines and looking to get at the home defence. The only thing lacking from Brentford’s start was a goal.

There was almost one within two minutes when Jozefzoon got away on the right and cut the ball back to Canós but his shot was blocked. Another Canós shot was blocked soon after when he burst in to the box from the left and Sawyers then saw a shot saved by Jack Walton after more good work by Jozefzoon. Sawyers was able to pick his spot from 18 yards and should probably have given the home goalkeeper a sterner test than he did.

The Bees created another good opening soon after when Ollie Watkins turned free from the defence and found Sawyers, a little through ball opened up a shooting chance for Canós but the door was quickly closed and the effort blocked. And Brentford not taking one of those early chances came back to bite them when Barnsley took the lead. The ball was worked to Moore on the left and with no-one to aim at in the middle he floated a ball to the back past, it flicked off Chris Mepham, looped over Daniel Bentley and in to the net off the far post. The striker may claim to have been going for goal but was doing so from an improbable position and found the only way of getting the ball in to the net from where he was via a lucky deflection.

The goal changed the game. Barnsley had stood off Brentford and looked nervous, with their Sky Bet Championship existence on the line, but they suddenly had energy. They harried and chased and forced mistakes. They also started to have the ball in Brentford territory for the first time and looked for a second goal. A long-range effort from Gary Gardner was blocked by Woods before Connor Mahoney escaped on the right and delivered a cross that Moore headed wide at full stretch.

Brentford tried to respond after the goal and Jozefzoon was unable to force home a cross from the left before Canós, who delivered that ball, looped a header over. But The Bees were finding it difficult to play incisive football in Barnsley territory. The hosts were compact and working hard to cut down the space. When Brentford tried to play forward they found a wall of red that was tough to go through or around.

They did have openings before the break but couldn’t find a way through. Mepham had a header blocked from a Macleod free kick and Canós lofted the loose ball over. There was then a golden chance when Canós broke quickly from deep and fed Watkins but Liam Lindsay came across to make a last-ditch tackle. Canós had a shot blocked after weaving in to the box again and Mepham fired the resulting corner wide when it dropped loose.

Barnsley were mainly forced back on the defensive but did have openings of their own. Adam Hamill saw a shot blocked and the resulting corner looped out to Zeki Fryers who lashed it back on the volley with interest but saw it blocked by Mepham. That ensured The Bees only trailed by one at the break and they would have been hoping to turn the game around in the second half. But Barnsley had other ideas.

The home side surged forward at the start of the second period. They added a second goal within six minutes of the re-start and had chances to put the game completely to bed. They swarmed all over Brentford, stopping The Bees from building any sort of rhythm and took control of the game.

The goal came from a corner delivered from the left, McBurnie got up to bounce a header down, it beat a gaggle of defenders and somehow sneaked its way in. Mepham attempted to clear off the line as Lindsay tried to force it in but referee Darren Bond signalled that the ball had crossed the line and awarded the goal. That gave Barnsley a massive hold on the game and they went for more.

McBurnie saw a shot blocked when he got on to a deep cross before Mahoney weaved his way in to the penalty area and let fly with a shot that Bentley saved superbly. The ball, however, bounced free and Moore looked set to seal the game but lifted his shot over from five yards. Moore then fired across the face of goal as Barnsley continued to attack.

Brentford made a series of changes to try and change the flow of the game. Nico Yennaris and Neal Maupay came on just before the hour and the latter soon won a free kick that Jozefzoon curled over the crossbar. Watkins also had a near post shot saved but Barnsley maintained the upper hand. Bentley saved a low shot from the impressive Adam Hamill and the same man then curled just wide. Brad Potts also fired off target from distance.

It wasn’t until the introduction of Kamohelo Mokotjo that Brentford started to regain a modicum of control. They were not at their best, passes went astray and it was difficult for them to make an impact but The Bees were on the front foot and playing in Barnsley territory as the hosts dropped off a little, perhaps happy to hold what they had. Yoann Barbet fired a snapshot just wide after a clever Sawyers pass and a dipping, swerving effort from Mepham was saved a little unconvincingly by Walton.

Watkins then fired across the face of goal before a Barbet cross also failed to get a crucial touch with Yennaris and Jozefzoon arriving. But that was as close as Brentford came. The Bees played in Barnsley territory late on but the home side were compact and hard to break down. They slowed the game down and did what it took to get three points they deserved on the balance of play. It ended Brentford’s hopes but gives them a chance of playing in the Championship next season.

Tickets available today at Oakwell Stadium

The Bees are in Yorkshire this afternoon as they look to close the gap to the Play-Offs. Tickets for this afternoon’s fixture against Barnsley are still available and can be purchased from the North Stand turnstiles at Oakwell Stadium. Only junior tickets won’t be available so you will only be able to purchase them at the young person rate. Please note: only cash payment will be accepted and ticket prices increased by £2.

PRICES

Adults(22-64)

Seniors (65+)

Young Persons (17-21)

Junior (12-16)

Junior (under 12)

Advance Pricing

£25

£18

£18

NA

NA

TRAVEL INFO

The free coaches sponsored by Utilita, our Official Energy Partner, are now sold out.

Coaches will depart at 9am from Great West Road near Premier Inn.

Please note: No tickets will be issued for travel, fans should keep their email confirmation and bring it on the day to access the coaches. Under 18s must be accompanied by an adult on the coaches.

MATCHDAY INFO

Tickets for collection from Oakwell on matchday only

CUSTOMER CHARTER

Note: All tickets are subject to the Terms and Conditions of issue. The purchase of a ticket constitutes acceptance of these Terms and Conditions and acceptance of the Ground Regulations. Members discount does not apply to away games.